Well ain't this a depressing start.

File: Door to the past.jpg (126 KB, 700x1054)

126 KB JPG

>>2310378
You walk past the Town hall, and stop to look up at it from the grey and empty road. The old white building seems much smaller than you remember it. You guess you have grown a lot since last time. It’s weird being able to see it again from such a different view.

Your “family” moved away from here half way through middle school, so you never got to see it from the point of view of anyone but a kid. Ugh, just thinking the word “family” brings a bitter taste to your mouth.

As you ruminate on the unpleasant flavor, you find that somehow you have ended up walking to the door of your old house.

You aren’t sure why you have come here.

Nothing good is behind that door. You failed and lost it all. You can’t forgive yourself for that, but you can’t forgive them either. If you failed, they failed ten times over. Only an absolute failure of a parent, no, an absolute failure of a human being could do what they did.

Even if there was something to come back to, its far too late to come back to it here. Your “family” moved away years ago, in both a figurative and literal sense.

It’s all only sour memories full of regret, sadness and more than anything else now, spite.

You want to turn away.

You want to turn your back on it.

You want to run from this grey door and leave your grey past behind.

So why don’t you?

You are pretty sure you can. Running is what you are good at afterall.

You want to run back to that beautiful dream of another world.

More than that though, you want to run back to Saya.

It would be so easy to turn away and run into the night.

You are pretty sure it would send you back too.

But...

Why is it that you find your hand reaching for the doorknob?
[ ] Open the door and go inside.
[ ] Leave this place. You put it behind you once and you can do it again.
[ ] Other (Write in.)

>>2310393
>[ ] Open the door and go inside.

>>2310378
>man who pretends to be a hero but really just gets lucky sometimes until he inevitably screws people over with his overconfidence.
Ouch, why’d you have to go and make it personal?

>>2310393
>[ ] Open the door and go inside

>>2310393
>>2310393
>[ ] Open the door and go inside.

>>2310393
>[ ] Open the door and go inside
This is not ominous. Not at all

>>2310411
When you die, you learn a lot. That you suck, that you're petty, that you're lame...

This is what it is to die.

It means feeling like you want to die.

>>2310401
>>2310430
>>2310432
>>2310436
[+1 Reminiscence]

>>2310452
Long post. Sorry for the wait, just a bit more.

>>2310615
Actually, I have decided that I'm going to cut this into two separate scenes.

No. You aren’t running away from this now… You failed and you somehow know this is where you belong because of it.

You grip the doorknob and open the door. Your “parents” never locked it after all. It swings open quietly and you step inside. Its grey here too.

You walk down the hall. Each step only adds more to bitterness that you can feel welling up inside you. Up the stairs. The second floor hallway is dark grey, only broken by the flickering light that comes out from below the door of your room.

It’s been a long time since you have opened this door.

You already know what is behind it.

You are. You open it and look at your younger self.

You are sitting there in your bed playing Halo or Cod or something. Either way, the screen from your point of view is just grey static. The child version of you just sits there tapping away at his controller, engrossed in his game. You take a seat next to him on your old bed.

You always did this when you were a kid. It’s how you got by.

You weren’t a particularly social person as a kid because of your aspergers, so every night after you got home from Track, you would come here and waste time playing games alone until your “parents” came and yelled at you to go to sleep.

You had some friends while you were at school, but the second you left, you were alone again until the next day.

Well, you say alone, but at least you had Dan to hang out with most of the time. He may have been your brother, but he was your friend too. You played games with him almost every night when he wasn’t out with his own friends.

Either way, tonight, on whichever night in the past this seems to be, the child you is alone with only his screen, his controller, and whatever you count as right now to keep him company.

Back then, gaming like that was a fun way to pass the time, but when you look back at it, it feels empty. Maybe that’s because you know what it led too and what that taught you about your “family”. Maybe it’s because you realize it’s part of what kept you from going out and looking to make more friends. Maybe it’s just because you think console games are for fucking plebs now.

Who knows.

Either way, you are pretty sure it feels so empty because you know it was a failure on your part.

Maybe that is why you are here?

To wallow in your failures.
[ ] You can’t escape your failures.
[ ] You can do better.

>>2310649
>[] you can do better

>>2310649
[X] You can do better

>>2310649
>[X] You can do better.

>>2310653
>>2310666
>>2310720
[+1 Moving On]

>>2310730
One after another, you can never seem to truly escape them no matter how much you run.

No matter what you try to do, your failures only pile up more and more.

But you know you have to keep going.

If you don’t, what will you do?

Keep wallowing in despair forever?

You don’t want to live like that. Who would?

You have to keep going.

You [c]CAN[/b] do better.

Perhaps this is why you were brought here? To remind you that failure isn’t the end. You can keep going, and every time you fail, you will be stronger for it. So what if you fail a hundred times? You will come out of it a hundred times stronger in the end.

Perhaps this is your lesson?

What better lesson can be taught to someone who can only fail?

The child version of you looks straight at you and smiles.

You stand up.

File: Tranquility.png (470 KB, 1600x900)

470 KB PNG

>>2310809
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLC41teTz0A&list=PLMy-e1JL4mgtt79VeXyvvHP_0E-EfC_v3&index=14

You are no longer in your room. With no sensation of movement, you have been taken somewhere else. The air is full of small flakes of blue light that silently fall like snow. The grey sand-like ground below your feet stretches into hills in the distance behind you, and in front of you, a sea of dark blue water extends beyond the horizon.

From the surface of the ocean, streaks of white light occasionally rise out and float off into the sky. Your eyes follow one up as it slowly drifts away. Above you in the sky hangs the Earth, blue and green and covered in the white of clouds.

You are on the moon.
A blue flake touches your face and for a second you catch a glimpse of what you assume is a memory? It’s not one of yours though... A house you have never seen with a simple green door and a welcome mat laid on the porch. It is fleeting and as fast as it came, it is gone again, leaving you wondering if it was even real.

Coming back to yourself, you realize that you are once again in the body you have gotten used to over the last week or so. Your body is once again the body of Will2Fight, fluffy tail and all. Rather than your normal gear though, you seem to be wearing the clothes you were when you got stuck here.

You attempt to open your menu, but when you do, you are greeted by unintelligible gibberish filling the screen with name you recognize in the zone’s name bar. Mare Tranquillitatis. You don’t speak Latin, but you always loved stuff about space, so this is something you know. The Sea of Tranquility. The silence around you lives up to that name.

You take a few steps towards the ocean and your bare feet silently leave footprints in the dust.

File: Sea of Memories.gif (1.09 MB, 500x280)

1.09 MB GIF

>>2310817
You aren’t sure what you are doing here.

No, you think you understand.

This is where you go when you die.

Perhaps that explains the glimpse of a memory?

When you died in the game you lost EXP. Now that the game is real, what is EXP beyond just an arbitrary number that makes you level up?

Perhaps it’s your life experience.

Maybe that is why you forgot the names of those stores.

You walk towards the water and stand at its edge. A silent wave washes over your feet.

If those flakes of blue “snow” are a memory, and that light rises from the water into the sky, perhaps the water is made of memories too?

Maybe it’s not just other players either. Maybe it belongs to everyone who dies here.

You guess heaven really is in the sky in this world.

Is it really okay for you to stand at its edge?

As you contemplate that, you feel a hand take hold of yours.
You look for the source, and find a small girl holding your hand. Her clothes are different than you are used to, but you recognize her instantly.

[ ] Apologize. It’s your fault she is here, that is the least you can do.
[ ] “So what do we do now?”
[ ] Ask what she saw?
[ ] Stay Silent. Just hold onto her hand and watch the water and the lights.
[ ] Other. (Write in)

>>2310823
>[ ] “So what do we do now?”

>>2310823
[X] Apologize. It’s your fault she is here, that is the least you can do.

>>2310823
[X] Stay Silent. Just hold onto her hand and watch the water and the lights.
Shit happens.

>>2310827
>>2310837
>>2310859
One of each so far, so I will leave vote going a bit more.

>>2310823
>[ ] Stay Silent. Just hold onto her hand and watch the water and the lights.
>Other: "I was worried" Hold thigther to her hand.

>>2310859
>>2310876
[+1 Silent Reflection]

>>2310908
You don’t know what to say to her.You could apologize?

Something tells you she doesn’t want one.

Maybe you could ask what to do now?

No, you feel like you already know, she probably does too.

You will revive soon. You aren’t sure how you know, but like a lot of things recently, you just do.

Rather than any of that, you think you will just be here with her.

That’s probably what she wants too seeing as she still hasn’t said anything yet.

The two of you stand in silence, hand in hand, with your feet in the water watching as the mysterious lights rise from its surface and eventually disappear into the air.

Eventually, she pulls on your hand and leads you back to beyond the edge of the waves. She sits down in seiza and pats the ground next to her. You sit down as well, then climbs into your lap. She pulls her knees up to her chest, then takes your arms and wraps them arms around herself.

“Did you see your family?” she asks.

“No, but almost. Why?”

“Because you look like you are thinking about something dumb again.”

“Oh.” you say a bit surprised. “I guess so.”

“So what do you think you are going to do?”

“The same thing I always do.” you say with a bit of resolve. “Just keep going.”

File: Death is a thing of beauty.jpg (172 KB, 413x719)

172 KB JPG

>>2311072
“But aren’t you afraid you will fail again?” She looks up at you and you notice her eyes are a bit red. Maybe this is hitting her a bit harder than you. You are good at dealing with this kind of shit, but you don’t really know that much about Saya’s past with it.

“Maybe a bit, but so what? Everyone fails. Heck, you didn’t even fail back there, it was all me...” you say reassuringly.

“If I had just gone in the first place maybe you would have been okay…” she says sadly.

You shake your head. There was no way you could have escaped those things. You are pretty sure of it. “Don’t think you have any blame in all that, I’m the one who got everyone to go out there, I’m the one who couldn’t save you. I’m the one who failed.”

“But I-” she looks back at your (hopefully reassuring) face and goes quiet again.

“The best we can really do is just take what we can from it and try to do better next time. Even if you think you failed, this time, just let me be selfish and say it was my fault so I can grow a bit more.” you say while petting her head gently.

“I guess I will then...” she says and leans back into you.

The two of you sit there for a while. Honestly, it really is beautiful. How many other people can say that they have seen this view? Well, to be fair, maybe more here than there were on earth, but for you it is brand new.

To see the world that you call home from so far away...

Really, all of your troubles seem practically insignificant as the two of you watch the planet hanging quietly in the vacuum of space.

“So are you ready to give it another try?” you ask after sitting quietly a bit more.

“I… Yeh… Let’s go back.” she says standing up.”

You get up as well and take her hand again.

Light surrounds you and you black out again.

You open your eyes. You and Paradigm are lying down on the bed in the middle of the cathedral.

You sit up. Your body is a bit stiff, but otherwise you feel alright…

You brush Paradigm’s hair off her face and she opens her eyes as well.

“Hey, welcome back.” you say with the smoothest voice you can.

“That’s… Pretty lame… What is this, an old movie?” She says with a small chuckle.

“Oh well, I guess that line is just another failure.”

“You better learn from that too.”

“I’ll think about it.”

What should you do now?”
[ ] Check up on the rest of the party
[ ] Go drink. You need one.
[ ] Other. (Write in)

>>2311092
>[ ] Go drink. You need one.

>>2311092
>[ ] Check up on the rest of the party
>[ ] Go drink. You need one.
>[ ]Other talk about a raid boss being able to break the level cap i don't think that was a in the game desing before

Gonna take a break for a bit, I will be back in a half hour or so probably.

>>2311120
Sorry, some IRL stuff came up that took waaaay longer than expected. Since we are at a decent stopping point anyways having just returned to life, I’m just gonna end for tonight. Next session Monday Feb. 19 at 2
[ ] End Session

>>2311380
whoops, that’s me, posting from mobile since I just got back and accidentally forgot trip...

>>2311380
>>2311384
Ah man...well okay i suppose stuff happens.

>>2311092
>No. Nooooo drinking for this one.
>Read up on abominations. Or ask that elder NPC guy. Is there something those guys do to power up massively? Steroid smoothies?

>[ ] Check up on the rest of the party
>Ask them if those barrels were actually any good.

>>2311092
>[ ] Check up on the rest of the party

File: Cathedral.jpg (115 KB, 1280x720)

115 KB JPG

>>2311092
First things first, you should probably check up on everyone.
Actually, on second thought, before that, you should probably get off the altar in case anyone else needs to use it...
You may have died, but everyone else may not be out of the woods yet.

You hop down from the large marble altar and offer Paradigm a hand down as well, which she graciously accepts. You head over to a bench and sit down, when she sits down next to you, you put your arm around her shoulders.
“I’m gonna call and see if everyone is alright.” you tell her. She nods, so you open up your menu and look for Hiroshima’s name. He is just inside the barrier…

You heave a sigh of relief.

But he isn’t the only one you are worried about. When you died, there were still 2 more people than there were spots on a reindeer…

Before you can call, a bright light flashes behind you and you turn around to see Brolaire laying on the marble slab. He sits up and looks around for a second before spotting the two of you. You wave at him awkwardly.

“Thank god you guys are ok…” he says getting off the table and walking over. “Man, when I saw you go down, those dogs were really going at you. Blood and limbs and stuff were everywhere…”

“You could see it all from that far ahead?”

“Nope.”

“What?”

“I jumped off right after you guys went down.”

“Are you an idiot?” Paradigm asks him from your side.

“Probably.” he says “But I think it was the right thing to do.”

“Getting killed for no reason probably wasn't the right thing to do.” Paradigm says rather bluntly.

“I never said it was for no reason.”

“Did you think of a way to save the others?” you ask tentatively.

“Maybe? Results are still pending I guess, at least until we hear from them.”

>>2325508
“So what did you do?” Paradigm asks.

“I used Shackles of Light and Aegis of the Faithful.” he says.

You and paradigm both look at him cluelessly since neither of you actually know the Paladin skill set.

“Oh woops, they are kinda like Anchor Howl and Castle of stone, except Shackles links all the enemies within a certain distance of me and stops them from leaving the AOE and Aegis still lets me move and lasts half as long.” he explains.

You are pretty sure a look of realization crosses your face. For about half a second you wonder what it actually looks like, but then you realize that’s yet another dumb and pointless thought given the situation.

“So you sacrificed yourself to buy the others time?” Saya asks.

“Yeh pretty much.”

Shit, you should have thought of that… Actually, wait, on second thought, you probably wouldn’t have done much even if you did. Monks don’t have an invincibility skill like Guardians and Paladins, so even if you wanted to, you would have jumped out, AOE taunted, gone down in a second, and helped literally as much as you dieing did anyways…

“All that talk about wanting to be a hero looks like it paid off then, right? You are basically like Will, except its less out of luck and you aren’t as much of a blockhead.”

“Hey!” you protest.

“Haha, I guess so.” Brolaire laughs. Paradigm sticks her tongue out at you. “You two are really close, huh?”

“Yep.” you say in unison.

He smiles at that. “Well, I guess all we can do is sit down and wait now, right?” he says.

“I think we have done enough hero-ing for a day.” Paradigm says.

You feel like you can agree with that statement.
[ ] Call Hiro to make sure he is alright.
[ ] Tell OrbitalBlur about the Abominable Abomination’s 90+ level and how you all got chased afterwards, maybe he can figure out a way to deal with it.
[ ] Paradigm is right, enough hero-ing for one day. Go get some drinks at the bar while you wait for everyone else to get back to town.
[ ] Other? (Write in)

sorry about the late start, just had to make some last minute changes to the posts since I wrote them at 3 am.

>Bro laire is a super Bro

okay he gets to taste the soup and extra set of (50) drinks

>>2325510
>[ ] Tell OrbitalBlur about the Abominable Abomination’s 90+ level and how you all got chased afterwards, maybe he can figure out a way to deal with it

He may be a idiot cowboy but if the fires go out that thing will walk into the city.

>[ ] Paradigm is right, enough hero-ing for one day. Go get some drinks at the bar while you wait for everyone else to get back to town.

>>2325510
>[ ] Call Hiro to make sure he is alright.
>[ ] Tell OrbitalBlur about the Abominable Abomination’s 90+ level and how you all got chased afterwards, maybe he can figure out a way to deal with it.

>>2325519
>>2325531
[+1 Informed cowboy]

File: OrbitalBlur.jpg (6 KB, 225x225)

6 KB JPG

>>2325597
While you wait in the cathedral, you figure you should tell someone about the level 97 abomination. If the fires ever go down, that thing could very well end up marching right into the city, which is fucking horrifying. Maybe if someone kills it, it will go back to normal?

The only problem with that( other than the fact that killing it may not actually fix the problem) is how the hell is someone supposed to kill that thing?

Its 7 levels over the cap and as far as you have seen, nobody has leveled up over 90 yet.

You don’t even know if it is actually possible to do so considering the expansion wasn’t for another month.

Either way, if players can get 90+ or not, that thing is still out there and needs to be dealt with.

You scroll through your friend’s list and find OrbitalBlur. Out of everyone you know so far, he is probably the best candidate on the list of people who can get a raid together.

Ring… Ring… Ring..

“Well hello there Mr. Will, how can I be of assistance to you this fine morning?” he sounds a bit drowsy, you forgot how early it was…

“Sorry if I woke you up.” you apologize.

“Now, thank you for that, but if I may go out on a limb, may I assume you have something important to tell me?”

“Yeh, I do.”

“Well then, if that is the case, an hour or two of sleep is little lost. Go on.”

>>2325685
“So, last night, me and a group of friends went out to try our hand at the Devil’s lair. When we were in there, we noticed that a bunch of the devils were missing in the first half, and when we got to the Abominable, we saw that somehow he was level 97 and apparently undead.”

“97 you say? As much as I want to believe that is a tall tale, your record speaks volumes Mr. Will. So what did you and your friends do then?”

“We booked it out of there, but while we were running, we got chased by a bunch of Skellhounds. 3 of us, including me ended up dying.”

“Roughly how many hounds would you say?”

“I have no idea. At least 40. Have you been outside of the barrier yet?”

“Can’t say I have except for relighting the fire on that dark mountain.”

“It’s nothing like that out there. When the fires went out, it was dark like night on the mountains, but out there is totally different… The snow is like blizzard tier, and the darkness is like pitch black. The only things that gave us more than 4 feet of light were the Jingle Reindeer some of our group had.”

“As unfortunate as that may be, it is good to know considerin’ we will probably have to head out there and check it out.”

“Yeh, anyways, since we couldn’t see more than about 30 feet, I have no idea how many of those things were chasing us.”

“We will keep that in mind then, thank you again for your service Mr. Will, rest assured that we will be looking into this mess. I am sure the city will thank you again in due time.”
Click.

You don’t really think you did anything worth being thanked, but at least maybe the problem will get solved now.
[ ] Call Hiro to check on everyone else.
[ ] It may be later than it is usually open, but you are the owner, so you don’t really have to worry about that... Go get some drinks at the bar while you wait for everyone else to get back to town.
[ ] Now that you realize how late it is, maybe it’s best to just head home and go to bed. Now that you have told someone and more or less “solved” things, you feel tired...
[ ] Other? (Write in)

>>2325687
>[ ] Call Hiro to check on everyone else.
>[ ] It may be later than it is usually open, but you are the owner, so you don’t really have to worry about that... Go get some drinks at the bar while you wait for everyone else to get back to town.
>[ ] Other? Invite Brolair for some drinks. heck do the same with fir everyone.

>>2325687
>[X] It may be later than it is usually open, but you are the owner, so you don’t really have to worry about that... Go get some drinks at the bar while you wait for everyone else to get back to town.

>>2325701
>>2325720
[+1 Owner's Privilege]

>>2325755
Now that that is out of the way, all that is left is to wait. “You guys want to head to the bar while we wait for everyone to get back?” you ask.

“Sure. I guess I could go for a drink.” Brolaire says.

“Sounds good to me, I could use one after all that.” Paradigm says.

That sums up how you feel pretty well.

The three of you head out of the cathedral and towards the bar. It’s as disconcerting as usual walking through the twilit city while knowing that it’s actually early in the morning. You wonder how long it will take you to get used to it. Paradigm walks along next to you and Brolaire follows behind.
The three of you trail footsteps through the light covering of snow on the ground.
Thankfully, you aren’t out in the cold long, as the Cathedral is fairly close to the town center, and you reach the bar with only a few minutes walk. In the window is a “Sorry, We’re Closed” sign. When you touch the doorknob, a menu shows up telling you the bar’s hours and that it is closed.

Fortunately, since you are an owner, you just press the button on the menu and the door unlocks with a click. You open it up and everyone heads inside. It’s still a bit warm since it only closed a few hours ago, and unwilling to let it cool down anymore, you go to light up the fireplace.

“So what do you guys want?” Paradigm asks from behind the bar.

“Just grab me a beer.” you say not really wanting to get drunk-drunk.

“Same here.” Brolaire agrees.

“Three beers then.” she says walking over with a bottle for everyone.

“I could have just gotten them from my inventory you know.”

“Yeh, but we are in a bar, so it’s more thematic this way, right?”

“Guess so.” you say with a shrug in response.

The fire catches nicely, so you take your burning hand out of it and sit on the couch. Paradigm hands out the beers and opens hers, then sits next to you and cuddles up against your arm. Brolaire takes a seat on your opposite side and cracks open his beer as well.

>>2325863
“To immortality.” Paradigm says and holds up her beer. You figure that is something worth toasting to since you are still alive. You clink yours against her bottle and then hold it towards Brolaire for him to clink his as well.

“So what do we do next?” Brolaire asks.

“Who knows.” you say.

“We usually just go with the flow.” Paradigm says.

“Well, that’s not a bad way to do things. Would you guys mind if I hang out with you guys every now and then in the future?”

“Sure. It was cool to have you along. We will definitely keep in contact.” you say

“I’m surprised you still want to after all that though.” Paradigm says.

“Eh, we died, so what? Shit happens, but before that I was enjoying myself. You guys are pretty cool, and going out and doing stuff, even if it gets us killed, is still better than doing nothing since we just come back anyways.”

“Guess so. As uncomfortable as it is, we didn’t really lose much other than some EXP. Its not like its a massive setback.”

“Honestly, given the choice between dying and not knowing about that abomination, I think it might be better to die once for it.” he says.

“Yeh, honestly I agree with that.” you say, “Just imagine what could have happened if that took us by surprise if one of the beacons was down.”

“Right?”

“Hopefully the <Morning Star>s can do something about it before that happens.”

“Yeah.”

What else should you talk about?
[ ] Call Hiro to check up and tell them to meet you at the bar.
[ ] Talk to Paradigm or Brolaire about something. (Write in.)

>>2325865
>[ ] Call Hiro to check up and tell them to meet you at the bar.

>>2325865
>[x] Call Hiro to check up and tell them to meet you at the bar.
>Other check if you have chicken soup in your inventory and if you have enough and once people arrive give some for each one.

>>2325886
>>2325881
[+1 check in]

>>2325886
Unfortunately you don’t have any, you didn’t make very much in that first batch since it was still just experimental and you and paradigm already ate it. It would take several hours to make more.

>>2325933

Meh forget it then. We still need to find a way to sell the secret but nobody came with a offer so we will sit here and enjoy our little bar.

>>2325933
You figure that since you guys are here, you should probably call up Hiro and tell him.

You open the menu and find his name then hit call.
Ring..
He picks up pretty quickly. “Yo, are you two all good?”

“Yeh, we are fine. Also Brolaire is too.”

“Great, that’s the next thing I was gonna ask.”

“How are you guys?”

“Cold, but at least we are alive.”

“So are we.” you say.

“Alright, cold, but at least we didn’t die.” he corrects himself with a laugh.

“Man, it’s weird being able to make that joke…”

“Yeh really.”

“So, jokes aside, you guys all got out, right?”

“Yeh, Brolaire took them all off us long enough for us to put some distance in and lose them.”

“Thank god, anyways, when you guys get back, swing over to the bar, we are all here.”

“Sounds good to me, see you in like 20 minutes.”

“Yep, later.”

Click.
[ ] Talk to Brolaire and/or Paradigm. (About what?)
[ ] Just relax until they get here. (Short Timeskip with another choice at the bar.)
[ ] Relax until they get here then make smalltalk and head home after you see everyone for a bit.
[ ] Other? (Write in.)

>>2325974
>[ ] Talk to Brolaire and/or Paradigm. (About what?)

About how weird things keep happening all the time and asing then what they feel about the situation. For us that just showed that we need to level faster.

Qm i forget but is Brolaire from a guild?

>>2325983
he is from <Citadel>

>>2325980
Seconded

>>2325980
>>2326010
[+1 discussion]

File: When hell freezes over.jpg (169 KB, 1920x1080)

169 KB JPG

“So, what do you guys think about the way everything keeps happening?” you ask.

“What about it?” Brolaire asks back.

“I dunno, isn’t there just a lot of things going on?”

“Well yeah, but what other expectation should we have?” Paradigm says. “If this is the same world as Elder tale, then its kinda reasonable to think a lot of things would happen, right?”

“I guess, but it feels a lot more fast paced than the game.”

“That’s probably because it’s all happening at once.” Brolaire points out. “Like, in the game, sure we did one or two quest lines at once, but that’s how games are. Events have to happen in a way players can interact with.”

“Fair point.” you say, “So why do you think the Abominable was like that? Something to do with the game’s setting?”

“Probably, but I have no idea what.” Paradigm says.

“I think I might have an idea.” Brolaire says, “In the game, the Devil and the Entropic king aren’t exactly on the same side.”

“What do you mean?”

“Its from the lore. They both want to kill the humans, but they are also enemies more or less.” He explains. “The Devil was living in that cave for a long time before the Entropic king came. Back then, humans had control over alaska, and the Devil was one of the monsters that ruled the area. Back then, the Entropic King was a lot weaker and just a mortal, so he made a deal, if the Devil killed the people in the nearby town, the King would give him his soul at the time of his death. So the devil killed all the people in the nearby town, and the Entropic King gained more power from it with a ritual and became a lich. Since the Entropic king became undead, the devil was only able to take a portion of his soul, which he uses to keep the King away from his mountain.”

“So the two of them hate each-other?” you ask.

“Basically.”

“And so you think that the Entropic king did something to beat the Devil?”

>>2326236
“It looks like it, I mean that thing was definitely undead, so as the big bad undead, the King must have had something to do with it. The Devil makes contracts, but he doesn’t use necromancy.” That makes sense.

“Alright, so then why did the dungeon used to have skeletons in it?”

“When the adventurers started going out of the barrier again, they teamed up for some reason, probably because they both hated them. I guess that didn’t last though. Or who knows, maybe the King just upgraded the Abominable to protect the Devil better for whatever reason? I get the feeling it's the former though, since all the lesser devils in the first half were gone.”

“Hmmm.” You aren’t sure what to say. Maybe you would know if you had been a higher level and actually done that quest line, but as you are, you have no idea…

“Man, I’m starting to wish I read the wiki more back when this was just a game.” Paradigm says.

“Yeah really, maybe the older players will be able to figure some more of this shit out?”

“Hiroshima has been playing like forever, right?” she says, “Maybe he would know more.”

As she says that, the man in question opens the door and gives you a wave.

Speak of the devil…

He files into the bar and the others follow him. They look cold and tired. Maybe dieing was actually easier than that whole walk back?

Probably not, but still…
[ ] Talk to Hiroshima and DesertFox about the Lore.
[ ] Talk to Dank Tank about dying.
[ ] Talk to AssAssIn and DanTheMan about how they feel about the adventure.
[ ] Talk about something else? (Write in)
[ ] Just hang out and take a load off. You need to relax.
[ ] Other? (Write in.)

>>2326239
>[X] Talk to Hiroshima and DesertFox about the Lore.

>>2326239
>[ ] Talk to Hiroshima and DesertFox about the Lore.
>Hey, how much exp does a level 97 give?

>>2326242
>>2326249
[+1 Lore Mastery]

File: Artifact Amulet.jpg (29 KB, 232x273)

29 KB JPG

>>2326311
Once everyone is sitting down around the fire with a drink, you figure you should ask Hiro and DesertFox about some more of the lore since they have been playing for a long ass time.

“So, while we were waiting for you guys, we were talking about why all that happened back there, and we came to the idea that the answer has something to do with the Storyline, do either of you guys know about it?”

“Yeh, I have only played it like 4 times now.” Hiro says.

“Three here, but also yes.” DesertFox confirms.

“So what do you guys want to know?” Hiro asks.

“More about the Entropic King and the Devil.” you say.

“What do you know now?”

“Basically that they were teamed up in the game, but not why.”

“Alright, gotcha. That was explained a bit more later on in the main quests.”

“Basically, the gist of it is that the Entropic King tried to invade the Devil’s lair to get back his soul, but the Devil used the soul fragment to control all his skeletons that he sent into serving him.”

“Wait, they were never teamed up?”

“Nope. They are just in a stalemate.”

“Or at least they were.” DesertFox adds.

“In the end of the quest line, the Entropic King manipulates the adventurers into killing the Devil while holding the Artifact Amulet and getting back the fragment of his soul.” Hiro explains.

“You mean this?” Brolaire pulls a silver amulet with a cross and a star in a circle it from his inventory.

“Yeh, that’s the one.” he continues. “In the end of the level 90 questline, you have to take it to the temple up north. The priest says that it will open a path towards the Entropic Citadel, but in reality, he just takes it from you then turns into a level 100 Death Priest and attacks you for a few rounds before the Sage automatically teleports you out.”

“Well shit.” Brolaire Says.

>>2326579

“So now the King has his soul back?” you ask.

“Yes, more or less.” DesertFox answers.

“But wouldn’t he have had it the entire time after the first person cleared the quest? Why are things different from the game?” Dank asks.

“Because time is moving like real time rather than game time.” you answer gravely.

“So what do you think happened to the devil?” OnTheFence asks.

“I… Have no idea.” Hiro says.

“The devil is basically immortal, so maybe they are keeping him at his boss room?” Catler suggests.

“I guess that would explain why the Abominable didn’t chase us himself. Maybe he is there to keep the Devil in now too, rather than just keep us out.” Paradigm says. You nod at the possibility.

“Ugh, why is everything such a mess up here? Fuck Portage.” AssAssIn says.

“Agreed.” DanTheMan says. “Fuck this whole world, let me go back to earth dammit!”

“Who knows, maybe we will find a way back eventually?” OnTheFence says.

“Hopefully.” you say and hand everyone another drink to help take some of the edge off.
[ ] Talk about something else? (See above or write in.)
[ ] You are fucking tired and it’s nearly 5am, time to head home and get some sleep.
[ ] Other? (Write in)

>>2326589
[X] Talk to Dank Tank about dying.

>>2326589
>so what DO we do about 90+ bosses? Would they even be hurt by explosives?

>>2326589
[ ] Talk about something else? Talk to Dank about death.

>The priest says that it will open a path towards the Entropic Citadel

>turns into a level 100 Death Priest

So it's the death cult that is doing all of this bullshit. They capture a lander take it to the priest to be possesse and kill all the fires.

I say it's the death cult because they are the only not undead and must be planning something big. Most likely kidnapping key people.

I guess we need to make the low level guest to stop it then.

>>2326605
If we manage to get to a lvl 90 brewer. Which with our current occupation as the owner of the var just helps us level up.

Our little keg bombs together with Hiro's artilary might cause a considerable to it.

>>2326602
>>2326614
[+1 Knowledge: Death]

>>2326653
While everyone else drinks, you pull Dank, Brolaire, and Paradigm aside. You are a bit curious about their experiences with death, so you explain what happened to you briefly and ask them what they saw.

Dank answers first. “I think it was kinda similar for me, I was in my old town, and eventually went up to the treehouse that we had when I was a kid. I always used to got there to mope around whenever I fought with my siblings. When I went up, a kid version of me was there playing his gameboy, so i just laid down next to him and started thinking about how shitty I was. Like, at everything. Not just in the game, but all the little things I was shitty at in life.”

“Yeh. Same here. I saw a grey version of my school and ended up wandering through the halls until I got to the roof. When I got up there, I saw myself too. I used to go up there to eat alone as a kid because I wasn’t any good with the other kids in my class. I sat down next to her and just kept wondering why I did a lot of stuff, and why I always screw up.”

Brolaire nods after listening to the stories. “If you don’t mind, I would rather not be specific.” He says.

“No problem man, its personal shit, and not the easy kind either. Like, I don’t want to talk about all the crap I thought of at all, so just say what you want.” Dank says.

“Well, just like you guys, I found my old self and ended up thinking about that kind of shit too. Sorry it’s not as specific, but at least it seems like there is a theme.”

“Yeh. So did you guys go to the moon too?”

They nod quietly.

“I wonder why it was the moon.” Dank says.

“I think I read once that there was a test server on the moon, maybe it’s linked?” Brolaire theorizes.

“Who knows?” Paradigm says.
You just shrug.

>>2326782
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huEbm8khDp4&list=PLMy-e1JL4mgvDHXin6IsfnAu4zpzqbpwU&index=34)

“Well, whatever reason we ended up there, it was really beautiful, right?” Dank asks.

You nod your head, so does Paradigm and Brolaire.

“Maybe its like that to tell us that there are still beautiful things to see in this world.” Brolaire says. “Sitting up there and looking out at the earth… Seeing the sun casting its light over the world, and watching the clouds swirl around… It was mesmerizing. I felt like I could keep going even if I died a hundred… No, a thousand times.”

“Yeh. So what if we died? So what if there are dickass skeletons? The world of Elder Tale is a beautiful place. It’s the same beautiful place that caught our imaginations the first time we picked it up. The same wonderful and exciting place we have always loved.”

“I hear you on that.” Hiro says from behind you. Apparently he was listening in, but that’s ok. “Let me tell you, when we went to go refill that beacon the first time, that’s what I was thinking the whole time I was standing on that mountain.”

“And sure, maybe some things are inconvenient, but so what? Things were inconvenient on Earth too.” Brolaire says. “Inconvenient things and things that are painful? They are just a fact of life.”

“And when you get past those sad facts, then you can see something amazing.” DesertFox joins in on the conversation. “Flying through the air over the valley, you can see some amazing views if you take the time to just look.”

“You know, even if it sucked and we all almost died, it wasn’t exactly boring.” DanTheMan says, “I guess it was better than just slaving away at a desk job all day.”

“That’s the spirit Dan!” DesertFox says while slapping him on the back.

File: A Drink To Adventure.jpg (14 KB, 470x267)

14 KB JPG

>>2326785
“So what do you guys think? Want to keep going and doing shit together like this?” you ask.

“You know it.” Dank says.

“Of course.” Says DesertFox.

“Who cares if we die!” Brolaire shouts.

“If you can all die and still be like that... Well, I guess I’m in too.” says Dan.

“You’d have to chain me up or something to stop me.” Hiro says with a grin. “Even then, I fully expect one of you guys to bust me out.”

“You heard the boss, I’m not getting left behind either.” Catler says.

“Maybe every now and then... “ says AssAssin.

“Count me in.” says OnTheFence.

“Do you really think it would be possible for me to give any other answer?” Paradigm asks.

“‘Course not.” you say.

“Well, it’s settled then! To adventure! To Elder Tale!” You raise your beer bottle to a cheer from the group and celebratory clinking.

Man, what is this feeling? You are pretty sure its not just because you are drunk.

It’s been a long time since you felt like this.

Your eyes are welling up a bit.

The word “Family” hangs in the back of your mind, but rather than feeling bitterness, it’s warm and pleasant.

You don’t want to lose it again.
[ ] End Session.

>>2326791
Thanks for playing guys.

Next session will either be Wednesday at 4PM or next Monday at 2PM, depending on how my doctor's visit goes.

I will be around for a while to answer any questions/comments/etc you have.

Great session my dude, also great music choice for that end part there!

>>2326800
Thanks for running. The last bit gave me a feel.

>>2326805
The show had a really amazing soundtrack, so just borrowing from it makes my life easy without losing quality.

>>2326806
Glad to hear it! If I can give people the feely wheelies, that means im doing at least a decent job as a QM (at least by my own standards).

>>2326813
No session today, sorry guys, I am wiped out...

>>2330442
It's fine boss. Take a rest.

You sit at the dinner table eating static.
Across from you sits your younger brother. On his right, your static sits calmly eating her static. You know your static is to your left eating his as well.
It’s a night like any other in your house.
Your static says something you can’t understand and your brother begins to tell her about his day. Unspecific details here and there, they enter your mind like white noise and leave it just as plainly giving you only the impression of an average school day.
As he finishes, she seems happy? No, you remind yourself that static can’t be happy. She isn’t capable of those warm and kind emotions.
Beyond the veil of static that presents itself to you, you know there is a frown now.
Good. It suits static better.

Your static next to you says something and stands up, leaving the table.
Next to your brother, your static points her fork at you and speaks a jumble of unintelligible static. You tell her how your day went. Or at least you think you do? The words leave your mouth, and as soon as they do, you forget what you were saying.
She continues frowning as you finish. Your static comes back to the table with a couple of bottles and hands you a beer.
You open it and take a swig. It tastes like water. You drink it idly as you lift another fork full of static to your mouth.
It’s a bitter taste.
That’s only natural though.
It was made by them after all.
Faceless people who pretended they cared about you sit around a table as they did every night.
Liars who speak in static made of empty promises.

Your “mother” and “father”. Your “family”.
What other word can you use to describe them?

Whatever they are you doubt you could use them in polite company.
Why are you still sitting here with them?
Is it because you want to come to terms with something?
Let what happened in the past go?
Forgive them for what they did and make peace with your memories?

No.

If that is why you are here, you refuse to have any further part of it.

You stand up and excuse yourself.
Dan does as well.
This house… This table… This “family”...
You are no longer a part of it, nor do you wish to be.
Everything that is left here is something you would rather forget.
Something you would rather leave behind.

You have better places to be. You leave the dining room and walk down the hall. Dan follows you. Through the windows light is shining in.

>>2344176
You open the front door of the house and you jolt awake.

The dim light of the midnight sun shines in through the slits in your curtains… You sit upright in your bed and look around your room.
It was a dream…

It probably should have been obvious, but when you are dreaming, things are always like that.

All the bitterness and anger.

Out of everything that you dreamt, those feelings are real.

Feelings that you feel less and less often as the time distances you from them, but ones that will never go away. Sitting in the back of your mind and burning like hot coals. Always ready to ignite and blaze again with the slightest fuel.

Even with such an ordinary scene… Just the act of seeing “them”, as surreal as it was, was plenty to bring it back.

You flop back onto your pillow again.

Why does this world have to dig these stupid memories up so much after so long? You growl slightly in frustration.

“Bad dream?” you hear from your left.

“Yeah.” you answer.

“Me too.” Saya says.

Staring up at the ceiling, you wonder if you should ask. Considering you would rather keep you own bitterness to yourself, you decide against it.

Instead, you turn and look at her. Judging by the slightly red eyes and moist cheeks, it looks like she was crying in her sleep.

Obviously a different set of emotions from your own, but perhaps no less strong.
You take her hand and hold it for a bit under the covers. It’s not much, but it’s what you can do now.

After laying there looking at the ceiling in silence for a while, she wipes her eyes with her opposite hand.

It’s times like this that you should do something to take her mind off whatever it was, right?

Your Asperger’s rears its ugly head again. God you wish you were better with people and emotions and stuff…
[ ] Suggest doing something fun and happy today to get all this crap out of your heads.
[ ] Just take it easy and give her time to get over whatever is making her sad. Sometimes people need to reflect on and come to terms with things, even if you don’t...
[ ] Suggest going to fight some weak mobs. When you are sad, sometimes it’s good to lash out. Get it out of your system and stuff...
[ ] Suggest hanging out with the others, being around friends usually makes people happy. Right?
[ ] Suggest doing something else. (write in)

>>2344180
[X] Suggest doing something fun and happy today to get all this crap out of your heads.

>>2344180
>[ ] Suggest doing something fun and happy today to get all this crap out of your heads.

>>2344187
>>2344228
[+1 Fun things are fun]

>>2344268

You figure you should try doing something to take your minds off this shit.

What can you even do around here though? Hmmm…
You probably shouldn’t go fighting stuff, that’s for sure. Maybe you should just avoid serious stuff altogether for the day. All work and no play something something isn’t good, right?

Yeh, you figure that something light hearted and enjoyable would be best.
All that is left is to ask her…
Since you aren’t really a master of social situations, you just go with the first thing that comes to your mind.

“Want to go do something fun today?” you ask her.

“Are you saying you want to have fun with my body?” she asks in an attempt to act like her usual self. Its half hearted at best, but she seems like she just wants to be done moping around like this.

“I meant do you want to go out and find something fun to do?” you respond awkwardly.


“Sounds good to me.” she says punching you lightly in the arm. “I could use a break, what did you have in mind?”

You didn’t really have anything in mind…

You should probably have come up with something before asking, but oh well.
[ ] Go sledding. That was fun last time.
[ ] Go to the park and walk around.
[ ] You remember hearing about a hot springs somewhere in town.
[ ] Go shopping. Girls think shopping is fun, right?
[ ] Wander around town until you find something interesting to do.
[ ] Other (Write in. I will tell you if what you request is possible.)

>>2344298
[x] Wander around town until you find something interesting to do.

I sense plot hooks.
And shenanigans

>>2344298
[X] You remember hearing about a hot springs somewhere in town.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>2344462
>>2344554
Man its slow today. Looks like we will be deciding with a roll.

>>2344636
[+1 Wandering around]

File: Are you fucking kidding me.jpg (23 KB, 489x592)

23 KB JPG

>>2344715
“Well, I was thinking we could just wander around town.” you say.

She laughs a bit. “That’s your idea of fun?”

“Well, sorta? We haven’t really taken the time to look around yet, have we?”

“No, I guess we haven’t.”

“We already know the docks changed and the city got a lot bigger compared to the game, so what if there is something interesting we don’t know about?”

“Alright, I can kinda see where you are going with this I guess.” she says. “Sure, let's look around.”

After getting prepared for the day, the two of you set out into the city. The weather is fairly nice. The twilight sky is crystal clear, none of the usual clouds are about and you can see some stars out. It’s only around 2 in the afternoon, so thats pretty neat. It’s a bit cold, but compared to how it was outside the barrier, it feels almost like summer.
Maybe you should take off your jacket? Nah. It’s still only like 50 or so at the most...

“So, any ideas of what to look for?” she asks you.

“Nope, not really.” you say. You wish you did, but you aren’t really sure how to go about looking for “something interesting”. You figure maybe it would be something with a lot of people around it, but you haven't really seen anyone yet. Maybe it will be easier when you get near the town center. “I figured something might make itself obvious if we looked for a bit.”

“Interesting strategy~” she says, “And what will we do if something doesn’t?”

“I dunno. Honestly, considering how things have been for the last week, I would be more surprised if nothing does.”

“I guess you have a point.”

A point which seems to be proven correct… As the two of you walk into the town center, you find it unusually full of people. It is pretty easy to see why. A group of adventurers is up on the Gate’s platform using it as a stage. A massive crudely painted sheet has been draped over the top of the portal’s frame to serve as a background. They seem to be putting on a play of some sort. Interestingly enough, when you look at the crowd, more than half of them seem to be people of the land.

After watching for a few minutes, you still can’t seem to figure out what is going on. After all, you did come in late. The play seems to be a very violent one, as the main character wearing a green helmet cuts his way through enemy after enemy.

That’s when it hits you. Holy shit. You aren’t sure whether these guys are retards or geniuses.
You recognize that music. Its all old timey, but you could never forget that tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0GiQUs2z9k

It’s not just any play, these guys are performing some sort of medieval version of the Halo videogames... What the hell?

[ ] Stay and watch the play. You aren’t sure what you are watching, but it definitely has your attention.
[ ] Do something else. (previous options)
[ ] Keep wandering to see if you can find any other interesting things going on.

>>2344911
>[ ] Stay and watch the play. You aren’t sure what you are watching, but it definitely has your attention.
Sorry to see a quest I like getting so few votes. But you gotta make votes really matter, which is hard with such a slice of life focused quest

>>2345095
I guess, another part might be because its a monday. I will probably try running on Saturdays after this session.

>>2344911
>[X] Stay and watch the play. You aren’t sure what you are watching, but it definitely has your attention.

>>2345095
>>2345218
[+1 play watching]

File: Dread Galleon Truth and R(...).jpg (55 KB, 350x263)

55 KB JPG

>>2345244
You aren’t sure why this exists, but it is not something you can turn away from. Saya, who you put up on your shoulders so she can see over the crowd, seems similarly entranced.

You seem to have come in towards the end of Truth and Reconciliation. In this play, apparently they turned “spaceship” into “normal ship”. In a feminine voice, the chief's helmet shouts “Thats it! The rowboat is clear!”
A rowboat floats through the air over to the side of the stage/portal stand as the group mimic running across the boat’s deck.
A man with a giant Key shaped sword yells “Everybody get on board!” and the characters jump into it.
As he does so, a pair of adventurers wearing hunting gear come out from behind the background curtain.
The helmet shouts “I’ll use my magic to lower us to the water! You deal with the hunters!”
“No need, I’ll take this boat down myself!” says the man with the Keyblade as he slices his key through the air. A rope suspended in the air above the boat falls to pieces and blood flies from the chests of the two “hunters”.
The rowboat drops to the ground and water splashes out into the crowd. They are really putting some effort into this production, when the water splashed, you could see the outlines of the invisible adventurers who had carried the boat over.
The Chief rows it away through the air with the help of the invisible stage hands and the scene ends.

Everyone claps and a man gets up onto the stage. He says “And so the Chief, Keys, and their their party escaped from the dread galleon Truth and Reconciliation. But their plight was not over yet, trapped in the mysterious island chain with their ship marooned on a reef, they seek the Silent Cartographer, an ancient relic which the mysterious covenant believes holds the secret of navigating the ruins that dot these islands.”

The stage hands drop down a new background scene as the man leaves the stage.

>>2345633
Holy fuck halo as a stage play works so well and this is awesome as fuck.

File: Giant Pelican summon.jpg (62 KB, 900x701)

62 KB JPG

>>2345633
As the next scene starts, a giant summoned Pelican ridden by a girl with a huge hammer flies towards the stage carrying a rowboat full of adventurers. Keys is gone and in his place are a couple of other adventurers. You assume they are standing in for the marines. The Chief’s helmet says “According to what we heard from those men, the covenant believe that the Silent Cartographer lies below this island. A magical map, and with it, we could find the control room for these ruins!”
As it finishes, the hammer girl says “Almost there, it’s gonna be hot, so come out swingin’!”
The rowboat is dropped onto the stage and everyone jumps out as the girl yells “Touchdown! Hit it Mariners!”
One of the stronger looking adventurers says “Pile out! Go Go go!” and the men all jump out of the boat and engage in mock combat with a bunch of people wearing cultists robes and their summoned pets on the opposite end of the platform.

When the last of the cultists has been defeated, one of the adventurers puts his hand to his temple mimicking party chat and says “The beach is safe!” in response, the pelican flies over and disappears, dropping the girl to the stage. “Alright! Did somebody order a warthog?” the girl asks as she summons a riding boar.
“Music to my ears Foe Hammer.” the chief says as he jumps onto the animal’s back. Foe Hammer, the girl, jumps on behind him and grabs onto his back tightly like a girl in love. They seem to be taking some artistic liberties here, but you have no intention of complaining. Plays need something like that, right? Another mariner, a sprinkler built enchanter, jumps on the back of the “warthog” and the beast takes off, running in circles around the stage, occasionally trampling a cardboard cutout of a cultist placed by the invisible stagehands while the enchanter shoots more cutouts like a machine gun.

The rest of the level plays out in a similar fashion climaxing as the Master chief duels the Elite cultist in an intense sword fight.
The audience cheers wildly as he strikes him down.

After he finds the map, the chief and his party meet back up with Foe Hammer and descend into the ruins(behind the covered portal frame) on the back of her Pelican..

The narrator gets back onto the stage and says “And thus the party descended into the depths of the ancient ruins in search of the way to their center. Will they be successful? Will the Covenant manage to stop them? Will Foe Hammer’s romance succeed? Find out tommorrow!” The man bows and the audience erupts into applause again. The rest of the cast comes out from behind the curtain hung over the portal and they bow as well to more applause.

“What did we just watch?” Paradigm asks you.

“I don’t know.” you say.

“Was Echo 419 in love with the chief?”

>>2345645
You glorious bastard you that was great.

File: Foe Hammer.jpg (79 KB, 600x1100)

79 KB JPG

>>2345645
“Not in the game.”

“Well, I like it, it was cute.”

“You think?”

“Yeh.” she says. “What was your favorite part?”

“I’m still just amazed that they managed to make the setting work. These guys are fucking geniuses. Do you think they got all this planned in a week?”

“I guess so, I mean, why the hell else would they have the script for Halo as a play set in Elder Tale?”

“I have no idea. Either way, that was really something.” you say.

Checking the time, it apparently took around two hours. It was surprisingly long for what was only a half hour or so at most to play through in the actual game. Overall, you are just really impressed.

"So what should we do now?"

[ ] Write in.

>>2345657
Go find that freakin hotspring dude nothing better to unwind after a play than a hot bath of sorts.

>>2345657
>>2345663
Agreed, hot springs episode sounds good

>>2345663
>>2345711
[+1 Hot Springs episode]

File: Hot spring hype.jpg (98 KB, 1235x702)

98 KB JPG

>>2345772
“Hmm.” you hum to yourself as you contemplate. “You know, a few days ago, I heard someone talking about a hot spring somew-”

“A hot spring?” she interrupts you almost instantly. Her eyes are practically glowing as she leans her head down over yours bringing her face into your vision. Ah, right, she is Japanese. They really like those, don’t they?

“Yeh, someone at the bar was talking about how there was one in town.”

“Really? Where?” she asks excitedly. “I haven’t gotten to go to one in years!”

“Years? I’m pretty sure they exist in California, even if they aren’t all that common.” you say.

“What part of poor college girl don’t you understand?” she asks you flicking your forehead from above.

“Alright, I guess that’s a good enough reason.” you say. “Anyways, I don’t know for sure if it exists or where it is, so we will have to ask around. Oh, and while we are at it, I want to grab the details for this play too.”

“Alright, lets get asking already then!” she exclaims, “Mush!” she kicks her heel into your chest like she is riding a horse or something. Since it doesn’t actually hurt, you decide to just go along with it, even if that would be the command for a dog sled and you don’t kick anything for those....

>>2345928
You carry her through the crowd up to the front near the stage. When you get there, the stage crew are giving people handshakes and handing out flyers for the play. You take one and put it in your inventory, then shake hands with the Chief and Foe Hammer. Their names are PlayBoy (level 83 Guardian) and ShowGirl (lvl 81 Summoner), and apparently they are a couple. You guess that explains why they added a romance subplot. Despite being the man and woman of the hour, they themselves seem curious to meet the “Hero of the Pyres”. From what they said, they were “thinking about making a play about it when they hit video game bedrock.” You add the two of them at their insistence and go back to trying to figure out more about the hotspring.

You aren’t sure how you feel about the idea of them making a play about you. Being a hero definitely is not something you think you are suited for. If anything, you are just oddly lucky in really annoying and usually completely unlucky ways. What can you really do about it though? To everyone who knows about it, you did kinda save the town. Hopefully people will just forget about it as time goes on and more crap happens.

Eventually, after asking around for a bit, you come across a Lander who says the Hot springs is just over in the town of Range. Huh. Guess its not as convenient as you were hoping, but it does exist. It makes sense considering the town is on the mountains. Every anime you have watched always has the hot springs in the mountains, and even if you aren’t sure that's how they work in real life, maybe the developers just went with anime logic too.

Then again, if you were going to pin it on the developers, your theory does fall through a bit. In the game, Range was only a rather small town with nothing more than the necessities (like a regional bank box) and a few quest givers. There definitely wasn’t anything as extravagant as a hot spring. Either way, now that you know where it is, Paradigm seems quite intent on going.

Right this minute...

Well, its not like you actually have any reason to argue, you kind of wanted to go to one anyways. You have never been to an actual hot spring before, but you know nothing beats a jacuzzi in the middle of winter. The two of you thank the Lander and head towards the Northern gate, then mount up and start on your way to the village.
[ ] End Session

>>2345945
Next session should be this Saturday at 2 PM.
Sorry for the short session tonight guys, hope it was at least a fun one.

I will be around if anyone has questions to ask or feedback to give. Thanks for playing!

>>2345953
Thanks for the thread dude, see you Saturday!

>>2345953
Thanks for running. Halo play was glorious!